He hated chasing Peja Stojakovic on back cuts. He hated the ball movement. He hated the spacing.

He hated playing the Sacramento Kings when he was with the Portland Trail Blazers and Memphis Grizzlies. For all he has said about Adelman and his offense and the affinity he found for both during his one season in Sacramento, Wells' antipathy for defending Adelman's offense might say more.

"I knew it worked because I played against it for so many years," Wells said. "In Portland, Sacramento was one of our rivals. We used to play against them all the time, and I hated playing against them, hated it.

"I hated guarding Peja, guarding Doug Christie who cut all the time. Then Bobby Jackson came in and you think, 'I can take some time off, I got a small guard in here,' and he would run you crazy. I knew this offense worked. It really worked. I hated it."

What's your name?

It has been called the Princeton offense. But despite some similar backdoor cuts, it is often far different from the offense
Pete Carril
took from his 29 years at Princeton to Adelman's Kings staff and the Hall of Fame.

It has been compared to Phoenix's style, and Adelman similarly will encourage fast-break jump shots if they are open. But there are other aspects starting with interchangeable guards and high-post passing big men — that could not be more different from the Suns' offense.

The term "motion offense" has been tossed around, and there is a lot of motion. But a college motion offense does not go against a 24-second clock that rules everything in the NBA. And Adelman uses far more "two-man game" with more post-ups than any college motion offense.

It is basically a movement-based, read-and-react NBA offense. When run well, Adelman will resist calling plays, instead letting his players determine where the ball goes based on what they see in the defense.

Wing players cut to the basket. Centers and power forwards often play outside and pass toward the basket. Every cut is followed by more movement to maintain spacing and create open shots if defenders overreact to the cuts.

"Basically, it's a series of three-man game and two-man game," said Rockets assistant coach Elston Turner, a six-year assistant with Adelman in Sacramento. "If the three-man game doesn't work, you flow into a two-man game. And at the right time, it's one-on-one.

"As a general rule, we allow our players some freedom to show their skills. We believe the spontaneous creativity, things that happen in the spur of the moment based on what the guy in front of you does is the hardest to guard because you can't prepare for that.

"It's exciting to watch and it's exciting for the guys to play in. If you have the ability to play, we allow you to do that."

In a Princeton offense, many of those hard cuts are designed to set up open perimeter shots. Even passes inside to a cutter usually draw the defense and lead to an open perimeter shot. NBA players at the same point would only choose between laying it up and bending a rim.

Work with Yao

The Rockets will have
Yao Ming
on the low blocks more in one game than some Princeton centers posted up in a season, though Yao usually will take his position within the movement.

"I think the back-cutting is Princeton," Turner said. "There is a combination of the triangle, Princeton and other things going on. I hear we run the Princeton offense all the time, but if you saw the Princeton offense, it's not really that.

"There are principles, helping each other out, back-cutting and reacting based on what the guy in front of you does. That's all Princeton concepts. But the actual movement and some of the plays are different. Princeton is more dribble handoffs and ball screens. They pass the ball more times looking for a good shot. We're trying to get the first available good one."

There are times, as in the triangle offense Phil Jackson has taken to nine NBA titles, after there is a pass to the post, the two other players on that side clear through. But in Adelman's offense, they as often remain on that side, spotting up at the strong-side 3-point arc.

There are many chances to improvise. "Splits," for example, bring forwards together in position to screen before sending them and the defense in a variety of directions.

"There are a million ways to (defend) the splits, but a million ways to react to the way the splits are (defended,)" said forward Shane Battier. "You can do a dribble handoff, a tight curl around the screen, fake like you're going off the screen and cut backdoor. That's a lot for the defense to try to figure out."

That's just the primary options off those screens. Every set has plenty of alternatives.

"We're trying to keep you off-balance from the standpoint of not making a lot of calls and doing things off reads and cuts," Turner said. "It's based on all five guys being a threat with movement and passing the ball.

"It's not always the cutter open. If the defense is really screwed up, the cutter is open. If the defense is played properly, the next guy is open, not the cutter because he is drawing two guys. There's different kinds of cuts. Back cuts. Slices. Curls. Dribble handoffs. Back screens. But we're just playing basketball. If it's in the game of basketball, it's in our system."

Free at last

Adelman said his best offensive players, Yao and
Tracy McGrady
, will still be put in position to do what they do best. But players rave about the democracy and freedom in the offense so much, they might as well be running for office.

"It's a free style," guard Mike James said. "Coach wants us to figure it out for ourselves. He understands that in the game we're going to have to figure it out. He's teaching us how to do that now, in training camp. One thing about the offense, it's constantly flowing. Everybody is touching the ball. You use your teammates to help you get open to get shots. It's not like one person is creating, and everybody else is standing. It's constant movement all the time, and everyone is touching the ball.

"It's easier. The defense gets lazy. The defense doesn't like that much movement. They like when you are standing still, and one person is dribbling the ball and they can all key on that person. In this offense, the defense doesn't want to play defense for 24 seconds, and you're going to get a lot of backdoor cuts. You're going to get a lot of open looks. You're going to get a lot of times when there is a cut, there is going to be help and a double team and know you're going to be open for a shot."

There is a lot of everything, which tends to make players happy.

"Those were some long nights in Arco Arena," Battier said. "It will be nice to be on the other side of it."